Fire Extinguisher Safety

Being prepared and able to fight small fires can prevent massive fire damage and save you the need for fire and smoke restoration services.

Before considering fighting any fire there are a few things that you should know.

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Georgia Flood Awareness Week March 15-19, 2010

Floods are the most common and widespread of all natural disasters with the exception of fire. Many people do not realize that flooding kills more people than any other weather hazard. The majority of deaths occur when people are trapped in automobiles that stall while attempting to drive through flooded areas. Most communities in Georgia experience some kind of flooding after spring rains or thunderstorms. Dam failures are potentially the worst flood events because when a dam fails, a massive quantity of water is suddenly released downstream, destroying anything in its path. Another concern is flash flooding. Flash floods usually result from intense storms dropping large amounts of rain within a brief period. They occur with little or no warning and can reach full peak in only a few minutes. Areas most prone to floods are ones with streams and rivers, urban areas and low-lying areas.

As always, the Champion team is committed to doing everything in our power to continue to provide outstanding service to our clients during this year's storm season. If you have any questions please feel free to call our office at 770-253-6070. We also have collected an abundance of valuable resources available on our Information Center at www.championcsi.com.

Water Damage Restoration - What's In a Name - Part I

Part I - One of the 'little things' that makes our industry and our jobs intriguing is that our customers are individual homeowners, so we have come across thousands of different first names, last names, and combinations of names. Of course, we all know some of the most common last names. Over the length of more than a decade having assisted thousands of people, these are Champion's most common customer names: Anderson 23 times, Moore 31 times, Brown 33 times, Jones 38 times, Williams 48 times (did you know that one was common?), Johnson 50 times, and the winner is Smith 70 times.

Greg Ahlstrom

"Baby It's Cold Inside"

With temperatures plummeting here in Georgia this week, a safe warm home to come home to is on everyone's mind. But if your first comment as you walk in the door is, "Baby, it's cold inside!", you may decide to add a space heater or use your fireplace to toast your cold toes. But here are a few tips from the National Fire Protection Association on using auxillary home heating equipment.

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Don’t Exfoliate Your Oriental Rugs!

Now I’m just as excited about exfoliation as the next warm blooded American man, but it is absolutely your area rugs’ worst enemy.  When dry soil gets on and in an oriental rug it exfoliates the surface of the fiber.  If you have rugs, they have soil in them. 

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A Lesson Learned About Storing Wedding Dresses

Another year has gone by which has yielded new experiences, interesting facts and challenging situations. I thought I would share with you at least one interesting lesson I learned this year.

If you are storing your wedding dress, whether you're keeping it for the memories or are planning on passing it down to a future generation, be aware that there is the possibility of mysterious stains appearing on the fabric after it has been cleaned a couple of times and sometimes decades later. What is the cause? The oxidation of sugar could be the culprit.

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Grease Fire Prevention - Watch What You Heat!

Grease fires occur when oil or grease type foods are heated and ignite. They happen most often when food is cooking and the cook leaves the room, becomes distracted or even forgets that the food is cooking. Such a fire can do significant damage, especially if it extends to surrounding cabinets or other combutilble items. If unnoticed, a grease fire can easily extend to a major house fire, engulfing the entire kitchen, adjacent rooms or even the attic.

What should you do if there is a kitchen fire? When if doubt, just get out. If you do vacate the house, shut the door behind you to help contain the fire. Call 911 after you leave.

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2009 Hurricane Season Ends Quietly

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Craig Fugate has some sound reminders for us. I thought I would pass them on.

“I can never remind people enough to stay prepared for potential disasters.  We must never let our guard down.  I am thankful for a quieter than usual hurricane season, but the fact remains disasters may occur at any time and without warning, said FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate. “As we head into the winter season, we must all remain vigilant and remember to take the time to prepare ourselves and our families.  Assemble a kit, have a family disaster plan and stay informed during disasters.”   

Visit: www.ready.gov or www.fema.gov for more preparedness information

How Do I Know If I Have Hail Damage?

I can’t tell you how many times over the past few months I’ve heard that question. With recent strong thunderstorms and associated hail, our area has certainly received more than its fair share of damage, as evidenced by all of the vehicles parading around the streets advertising first one roofer then another. Many of such roofing contractors are referred to in the industry as “storm chasers”. Hail storms are closely followed by their swarm of vehicles, eagerly anticipating a quick surge of easy money. After the initial rush of activity, they disappear as quickly as they came… on to the next affected area. They leave behind them a plethora of customers who have no one to turn to when warranty issues arise. The responsibility, and the financial cost, are then up to the homeowners themselves. I’ve see this happen time and again to families in our coverage area. Alas, I digress. Back to our original question.

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Smoke Detectors Save Lives

Every year in the United States, about 3,000 people lose their lives in residential fires. Most fire victims die from inhalation of toxic smoke and gases, not as a result of burns. Most deaths occur during the night while victims are sleeping. So, that is why smoke alarms are considered one of the best and least expensive means of providing early warning of potentially deadly fires. In fact, the risk of dying in a residential fire is twice as likely in homes without functioning smoke detectors. The key here is "functioning". You could easily have one or more "non-functioning" units in your home. That is why the US Consumer Product Safey Commission recommends testing smoke alarms at least once a month to make sure they are operating properly. Make replacing the batteries a seasonal routine when you reset the clocks for Daylight Savings Time to ensure that your alarm is working. As you insert the new battery, take a second to test the alarm.  So, next week head your shopping list with "batteries for smoke detector" so that when November 1 rolls around and it is time to reset the clocks, you will have no excuse whatsoever to avoid changing out those batteries. Remember, don't wait for a fire in your home to test your smoke alarm. Do it now! Kathy Reets - Co-Founder and Owner

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